NationStates Jolt Archive

An open invitation has been forwarded throughout the internet, with the link sent to national leaders and dignitaries.

"Chellis will be holding an opening banquet in the next few weeks. Anyone who has recieved this invitation is asked to RSVP within a week before the banquet, so we may prepare. Once we recieve the RSVP, a response will be sent asking for information, from meal preferences, and other important information we need to know.

Along with the info asked for, we will give information for what codes need to be given when chellian air operators ask for them, and for where to land. The banquet will be an over-night function, from 5:00PM to 1:00PM the next day. The banquet will consist of an introduction, dinner with speeches, a dancing/social period, sleep, then a breakfast, another social period, then it will conclude with words by the president.

We are holding this banquet, because we wish to show people the new chellis. No longer do we follow our old ways, our nation has completely revamped itself. We invite all to see our glorious Altruistic state, as we want to open ourselves up to the world, after such a long time of closure.

Up to four people from each nation may attend, depending on who they are. We will not accept bodyguards, etc, as the banquet will be defended heavily. Dress is formal, everything is free of course. Nobody is forced to stay the entire time, though we do hope people will. We hope to see people attend!"

OOC: This is basically my coming back post... I need an avenue to get back into the game, so to speak...

OOC: Bump

The internet, such an archaic tool really compared to Largentian forms of comminication however they still received the message at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Some low level employee opened the file and read the invitation. Deciding it worthy enough, he sent up to his superiors. This process continued of screening and approving several more times.

Eventually Gregor Schelzi's terminal beeped and displayed a hologram in the shape of a file which he opened as a message was displayed. He scanned it and shrugged. Largent had had no contact with Chellis and had no real knowledge of it or its people. He figured it would probably be a good idea to send a representative or two. However, the Empress would have to approve it first.

Minutes later he got the approval he needed and it was official. Two delegates were off to Chellis. Now it was up to Schelzi to select two delegates. He had few available since all top level officials were either reviving alliances or expanding territory off in foreign lands. He would have to send someone relatively important though. So, he decided to send two members of the High Council. They would be minor advisors to the Empress yet they bore an impressive title and were reagle to say the least. As they boarded a transport he sent an RSVP to Chellis:


From: Gregor Schelzi, Minister of Foreign Affairs
To: Chellis

I am pleased to inform you that we are accepting your invitation to the events taking place within your nation. We look forward to learning more about you and your people, having had no real previous contact with your nation. Two delegates are inbound as we speak and please give us any information we may need to land in your nation or do anything else.

~Gregor Schelzi
Minister of Foreign Affairs

The internet, such an archaic tool really compared to Largentian forms of comminication however they still received the message at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Some low level employee opened the file and read the invitation. Deciding it worthy enough, he sent up to his superiors. This process continued of screening and approving several more times.

Eventually Gregor Schelzi's terminal beeped and displayed a hologram in the shape of a file which he opened as a message was displayed. He scanned it and shrugged. Largent had had no contact with Chellis and had no real knowledge of it or its people. He figured it would probably be a good idea to send a representative or two. However, the Empress would have to approve it first.

Minutes later he got the approval he needed and it was official. Two delegates were off to Chellis. Now it was up to Schelzi to select two delegates. He had few available since all top level officials were either reviving alliances or expanding territory off in foreign lands. He would have to send someone relatively important though. So, he decided to send two members of the High Council. They would be minor advisors to the Empress yet they bore an impressive title and were reagle to say the least. As they boarded a transport he sent an RSVP to Chellis:

From: The Foreign Ministry of Chellis
To: Gregor Schelzi, Minister of Foreign Affairs

We are glad that nations we have had little contact with are interested in attending. We want to move away from our old habits, we are a rejuvenated nation, and as such, we want to get new friends. Attached to this message is the nessecary information. We shall see you soon.

~Pactore Elerir
Minister of Foreign Affairs

Suits really weren't their thing. Born and raised as royalty the two men had lounged in their lavish gold robes for the past fourty-five years and now they found themselves wearing black suits just to please some nation they had never had any contact with. It is hard to be royalty.

They had been airborn for several hours now and they were nearing the Chellisian border. The pilot opened to file received from Chellis and sent down all flight information and such to the airport they would soon be landing at.

In the back of the plane, Andrei and Alexander Kolchinski simply discussed how unpleasant they imagined this whole ordeal would be. Schelzi had not picked the two most pleasant Councilmen but they were certainly the two with the most diplomatic experience and they could, without a doubt, put on a smile and seem pleasant. They had a certian finesse that few others did and they knew it. Blood is not the only way to gain power in the Largentian governemnt.

Minutes after the pilot had sent the information down to the ground the craft was on its final approach and touched down. Coming to a screeching halt it pulled over into a hanger. Exchanging looks that told it all the two men got up and walked towards the door which conviniently opened for them. They stepped out and walked down the stairs to meet the Chellisian representative that would show them to this social event.

Suits really weren't their thing. Born and raised as royalty the two men had lounged in their lavish gold robes for the past fourty-five years and now they found themselves wearing black suits just to please some nation they had never had any contact with. It is hard to be royalty.

They had been airborn for several hours now and they were nearing the Chellisian border. The pilot opened to file received from Chellis and sent down all flight information and such to the airport they would soon be landing at.

In the back of the plane, Andrei and Alexander Kolchinski simply discussed how unpleasant they imagined this whole ordeal would be. Schelzi had not picked the two most pleasant Councilmen but they were certainly the two with the most diplomatic experience and they could, without a doubt, put on a smile and seem pleasant. They had a certian finesse that few others did and they knew it. Blood is not the only way to gain power in the Largentian governemnt.

Minutes after the pilot had sent the information down to the ground the craft was on its final approach and touched down. Coming to a screeching halt it pulled over into a hanger. Exchanging looks that told it all the two men got up and walked towards the door which conviniently opened for them. They stepped out and walked down the stairs to meet the Chellisian representative that would show them to this social event.

Upon hearing of the incoming plane, a taxi was immediatly dispatched from a nearby company, quickly picking up a representative. The even was not for a couple days, so they had not been prepared to meet the representatives from any nations so soon.

The limo arrived at the airfield right as the aircraft from Largent was touching down. The chellian who had been sent was a relatively young political figure. At age thirty six, Nathaniel Ivankovich had joined the political corps after recieving an invitation from the government. While almost nobody was forced into politics in chellis, it was a prestigeous job, yet not a back-breaking one. He accepted, as most did. After being in the military, he hadn't liked the prospect of manual work, and he didn't quite fit into any technical jobs, though he had the intelligence for them.

Nathaniel watched as the two men walked down the aisle. He noticed that they weren't particularly happy, but he attributed it to jet lag. Chellis was fairly remote, for those not in the CCoL. He walked to the two men.

"Seeing as you are the only people to have landed here today, I assume you are the representatives from Largent? Well, there must have been some sort of mix-up as to the date, as the event isnt for a couple days... We would hate to send you home, just to ask you back, so you are quite welcome to stay in chellis for the few days before the event, if you wish... We already have accomodations for you, if it so pleases you." Nathaniel took a breath. He wasn't exactly sure what to say, but he knew how to say what he meant. He got to the point, which was one of the things he learned in the military.

Bump(If this doesn't get some steam, I'll have to cancel it :( )

"I'm sorry, Flick, but you're going to have to go."

When her fellow Harpers put it that way, of course, especially when she looked around the table and saw Jaren's new grey hairs, Amalia's splinted arm, the tired, colourless shell of young Teo, Flick knew she would. But there was still a spark of Felicity Henderson, the unsure but gifted girl from the backwaters of Old Earth, inside the confident persona of the Harper called Flick.

"But what possible use could I be?" she objected. "You know what happens when I have to mix with all those high muck-a-mucks. They're always so up themselves, I can never resist taking the mickey, and it always ends in ...'

"International incidents," supplied Jaren, smiling slightly at certain memories.

"Explosions!" said Teo, his pale face lighting up.

"Extended explanations," said Amalia, dryly. "But you'll just have to try, Flick. We don't have anyone else near enough or well enough, there's no doubt you've got the experience for it, and that little extra you picked up at that finishing school of yours might just give us an edge."

Flick winced, as she did every time she heard Maritzar called a "finishing school". She hadn't wanted to go there, she hadn't expected what she found there and she was still coming to terms with what she'd learnt there, but it sure wasn't a "finishing school".

"We've accepted the invitation as what we appear to be," Jaren said. "The professional guild that represents all the entertainers who wander around the backwoods planets. So you won't have to mix with the 'high muck-a-mucks' if you don't want to; I'll do that."

"You're going too?" This put a different slant on the job. To work with Jaren was the dream of most of his younger colleagues.

Jaren stood, suddenly in-character. "It is only right that a brave new nation should offer the Artistes of the world a formal invitation," he proclaimed, thumbs hooked in the arms of his over-gown, chest thrust forward, voice booming with theatrical overtones. "Indeed, we welcome this recognition of our standing in the international community. Many a nation has made the mistake of believing The Arts to be frivolous, a distraction, but the leaders of Chellis have shown their understanding of the deeper needs of the human soul ..." He obviously could have gone on for hours in this empty vein, but Amalia had had enough. With her good hand, she crumpled up her printout of the vital invitation and threw it at him.

"If he ever stops playing the fool, he's invited as the Guild President," she said. "Flick, you're his dear little dumb apprentice. You don't have to do anything much, we just want to check this lot out. Find out what they'll be doing on the international scene. Decide whether we need to devote a lot of time to this mob or whether we can fit them into our usual rounds."

"What she means is, are they going to cause trouble?" Teo translated. "Jaren takes the high road, you take the low. He swans around at the High Table, you slop around in the taverns."

"But bring that red velvet thing of yours for the Official Banquet," Jaren instructed. "We'll do them a set of the Laws between courses, just to remind them how we earn our bread."

Harpers like Jaren earned a lot more than bread, Flick reflected. Diplomats, judges, law-givers, law-recallers, fair witnesses and well-practised celebrants for Hatches, Matches and Despatches, the determinedly neutral Harpers kept the thin blanket of civilisation patched together in the furthest reaches of human expansion. Their songs taught the basic laws of a reasonable society, their public exposure shamed petty despots and bullies, in scattered places that never saw a holovid or owned an Instantaneous Messaging terminal.

At considerable cost to themselves, that went without saying. Looking at the battered trio before her, she knew she could scarcely refuse a safe, legitimate little information-gathering trip to a peaceful country.

"I'll go pack," she said.

The Guild of Harpers accepts the kind invitation of the Government of Chellis. Attending will be the International President of the Guild, Fen-Lord Jaren na-Tholiou, and the Right Honourable Trainee Milady Felicity Henderson of Baulkham Hills, Old Sydney ...

<<Fen-lord? Fen-lord?>>

<<Just another way of saying Bog-trotter, Flick.>>

The two exchanged looks not quite sure how to react. Finally they just shrugged. "Well I suppose that we'll simply have to show ourselves around the city in the remaining time. I hope that accomodations are prepared. I will also have to apologize for any inconvenience we have caused." They both sighed inwardly observing how the situation was turning out to be a little comical.

Emperor Besty sat down at his desk for the first time in days, sighing relief.

Building this new tower was hard work, but he'd said that he was going to oversee the building. He couldn't go back on it now.

Among the papers which were scattered on the area of his desk known as the 'In-Tray', an invitation caught his eye.

"Chellis? Where the hell's that"

He picked up the phone and called his secretary. She explained that Chellis was a large nation in The Cursed Continent of Lodoss.

"Well I'll be damned", Besty said, putting the invitation down on his desk.

He scrawled something on a bit of paper and put it through the fax machine.

From: Emperor Besty the Majestic
To: Chellis

I believe that you sent me an invitation to attend a dinner of such, so that DC can see your nation.
I am pleased to inform you that we are willing to send a couple of Delegates to your nation.
Please forward any relevant information to my desk.

~Emperor Besty
Ruler of the Bestiville Empire

David Hornsby overlooked the new messages at the Ministry of Infomation and Communication. Though most of it was forwarded to others, he noticed a few new acceptances, and replied, giving them the stock information file, as well as thanks for coming, et cetera.

He was saddened, though. Only three nations were interested in coming to see the new chellian government. He had been a poor man in the old government, working for about Six Chellian Euro's a day. Then, after the silent revolution, he was put into the ministry. Though it wasnt a demanding job, he worked a large number of hours, and it was constant work. And he had many times more things then he had ever had. He wished people would come, to see how much the nation had changed.

Emperor Besty taps his foot, as a fax slowly comes through.

"It's about bloody time", he says to himself, putting it in his in-tray to read tomorrow.